25,000 days since players revolt against Durocher

25,000 days was one of the roughest moments Leo Durocher ever had in major league baseball. His team mutinied on him, and it took the intervention of the general manager to quell it. The incident was so nasty, and it made Durocher look so bad, that he didn’t even mention it in his autobiography, Nice Guys Finish Last.

The fun began rather simply, as is often the case. In the summer of 1943, Dodger pitcher Bobo Newsom threw a ball that got past Brooklyn catcher Bobby Bragan. Durocher was upset about it, and told Tom Cohane, a beat writer, that he thought Newsom intentionally tried to cross up his catcher, throwing a spitter when Bragan asked for a fastball.

The writer told the other reporters about it, and they all printed up Durocher’s comments. Next day all the Brooklyn players read Durocher’s comments, and the rebellion was on. They didn’t like Durocher showing up a player in the media behind his back. They didn’t like Durocher accusing a veteran pitcher of unprofessional conduct on the mound in trying to cross up his catcher. They didn’t like Durocher saying their guy threw a spitter.

The next day in batting practice, shortstop and future Hall of Famer Arky Vaughan told Durocher that if he really said what the papers claimed he said, then Durocher could find another infielder because Vaughan was turning in his uniform. Fellow veteran Dixie Walker joined in.

The clubhouse was in arms and calling for Durocher’s head. At the time, Durocher had led the Dodgers to back-to-back 100-win seasons, and so under normal circumstances he’d be considered safe. But these weren’t totally normal circumstances.

First, Brooklyn was in the midst of an off year, and a recent losing spell knocked them out of first. They’d never recover, finishing over 20 games behind the first-place Cardinals. Second, the GM who hired Durocher was gone. Larry MacPhail gave Durocher the GM job, but now the Brooklyn GM was Branch Rickey. Finally, Durocher always had an unseemly personal reputation. That always makes criticism against him stick a little easier.

Durocher’s reaction to the player rebellion nearly did him in altogether. He swore to his players he never said any such thing to the reporter and demanded Cochran come down for a confrontation about it in front of the entire team. Apparently Durocher hoped to make Cochan back down, but instead Durocher’s move backfired.

Cochran came down and in front of the entire team in the clubhouse, he cross-examined Durocher, getting Leo the Lip to admit everything in the newspaper was true, and he had said it. Suddenly, Durocher’s job looked to be in serious jeopardy.

However, new GM Branch Rickey was a believer in Durocher. He backed his manager, thinking Leo was the best man for the job. Instead, he jettisoned Bobo Newsom in a trade. Dodger announcer Red Barber later recounted this incident in the first chapter of his book, 1947: When All Hell Broke Loose in Baseball, and argued that was the beginning of the end for Durocher. He survived, but only because Rickey backed him, not because he had much personal credibility with the team.

Aside from the Mutiny on the S. S. Durocher, many other events celebrate a “day-versary” or anniversary today. Here they are, with the better ones in bold if you’d prefer to just skim the list.

Day-versary

3,000 days since the Marlins beat the Giants 4-3 in 11 innings in Game Three of the 2003 NLDS. It was tied at 2 after 10 innings, and Florida won it with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning.

7,000 days since in Game Three of the 1992 World Series, Toronto narrowly topped Atlanta 3-2. It was 1-1 after seven frames and Atlanta got one in the top of the eighth only to see Toronto tie it in the bottom of the eighth and win it in the ninth.

8,000 days since Atlanta traded third baseman Jim Presley to the Mariners.

9,000 days since Ellis Burks made his big league debut. In that same game, his teammate Wade Boggs belted his 1,000th hit. It took him only 747 games to do it.

10,000 days since Rollie Fingers had back surgery to alleviate a herniated disk in his back.

20,000 days since Boston offered the Indians $1,000,000 for pitching sensation Herb Score.

25,000 days since Rufus “Sonnyman” Jackson, owner of the Negro Leagues Homestead Grays, was jailed after a confrontation with Mexicans trying to sign his players.

40,000 days since Corsicana topped Texarkana 51 to 3 in the Texas League. Jay “Nig” Clarke belted eight homers in the game for Corsicana.

Also, at some point today it’ll be one billion seconds since the time Cecil Cooper and Don Money belted grand slams in the second inning for Milwaukee in a 18-1 win over Boston.

1921 Baseball owners vote to return the World Series to a best-of-seven games format. It was best-of-nine from 1919 to 1921.

1921 The Yankees make a big trade with the Red Sox. Boston gets Roger Peckinpaugh, Rip Collins, Jack Quinn, a fourth player, and $100,000 from the Yankees in return for Bullet Joe Bush, Sad Sam Jones, and Everett Scott. Almost all the players in this trade will have nice careers. Quinn and Jones will pitch until the 1930s, and Peckinpaugh will be a very nice shortstop for the 1920s. Scott will set a record for most consecutive games played that Lou Gehrig later shatters.

1926 Commissioner Judge Landis meets with Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, and Smokey Joe Wood about allegations of a fixed game in 1919. Dutch Leonard, the man who leveled the accusations, does not attend out of fear that Cobb will hurt him.

1926 St. Louis trades Rogers Hornsby to the Giants for Frankie Frisch and Jimmy Ring. Hornsby was not only St. Louis’ star second baseman, he was also their manager in the recently completed championship season.

1984 The Yankees trade veteran shortstop Tim Foli, slugger Steve Kemp, and money to Pittsburgh for infielder Dale Berra, prospect Jay Buhner, and a third player. Buhner is the most important player here, but instead of reaping the benefit of him, the Yankees will later trade him to Seattle for an aging Ken Phelps.

2007 The Mariners sign Carlos Silva as a free agent. This turns out to be a terrible signing, as Silva goes 5-18 over two years with them before being traded to the Cub for the ruined shell of Milton Bradley.